Sale Sharks have confirmed a new team captain as Ernst van Rhyn has been named the skipper for the 2025/26 season.
Fan favourite van Rhyn joined Sale from South African side DHL Stormers and quickly became a popular character around the club.
Arriving in Greater Manchester from Cape Town for the 23/25 campaign, it’s been a great start to life for ‘Ernie’, who extended his stay at the recently rebranded CorpAcq Stadium last week.
Sharks fans will no doubt be happy with the selection in the wake of star player and England international Ben Curry passing on the armband.
𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝘾𝙡𝙪𝙗 𝘾𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 🫡
Ernie takes the reins this season 🔥
Get ready to welcome him back home on Thursday, as he leads Your Sharks out for the first time at our @PremRugby opener!
Signing a fresh deal on 16 September, van Rhyn has not only put pen to paper on a new three-year contract extension but also expressed his further commitment to the club by accepting the captaincy.
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Chosen by Director of Rugby, Alex Sanderson, because of his clear leadership capabilities and versatility across both the back and second row – and he has the stats to back it up.
Topping the dominant tackle charts in the division and emerging as one of the best combative talents in the Gallagher Premiership, Ernie has now made nearly half a century of appearances for the Sharks, starting all 18 league fixtures last term.
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With the new season getting underway this Thursday, the appointment of Ernst van Rhyn comes after one of the Curry twins earned himself an enhanced England playing contract earlier this month, meaning he’s unlikely to be able to provide the same level of dedication domestically.
“Over the past two years, I’ve really enjoyed learning from some of the amazing leaders we’ve got at the club – guys like Ben Curry, George Ford, Rob du Preez and others are fantastic leaders and I’ve tried to take bits from each of them.
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“But it’s also important for me to keep doing what I’m doing because that’s what has got me to this point. I know this role brings more responsibility, but I feel like I’m ready for that. I pride myself on my ability to lead by example, and I know I need to keep on improving my own game and working hard as a player.”
Insisting that he wants to be a “calming” presence in the pitch and deliver extra confidence all the way from the dressing room to the field, the Sale boss echoed similar aspirations.
Sanderson went on to add, “He leads by example, he’s respected by everyone at the club, and I have no doubt that he’ll be a fantastic captain for us”, crediting his “boundless work-rate” and “attitude” beyond merely his natural ability.
“Off the field, he is an incredible leader, not just in how he trains and carries himself, but in his words and the way he speaks to people”, continued ‘Sandy’; “On the field, he’s relentlessly physical and an extraordinary player who we feel very fortunate to have at the club.
“We’re so excited that he’s committed his future to the club because we feel he’s only going to get better.” What do you make of Ernie as the new captain, Sale fans – and how are you feeling for the Sharks’ season opener against Gloucester Rugby on Thursday?
A documentary about Manchester’s famous homeless charity run has just dropped on YouTube
Danny Jones
An award-winning, short, and completely free documentary about Manchester’s famous annual homeless charity run is now available to watch in its entirety on YouTube.
Following a number of short snippets and teasers shared on social media over the last few months, the mini-doc by local moviemaker Gigi Shum was finally released on the streaming platform this past June.
Documenting not only the backstory of the inspiring Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness – now a much-loved annual tradition that has since spread to multiple other locations – it also gives a peek behind the curtain at those who organise it and the thousands of inspirational participants.
You can watch one of the most recent trailers here.
Capturing the sixth edition of the consecutive relay run, which spans the length of an entire day (which was another record-breaking year before being smashed in November 2025), Shum didn’t shy away from getting some laps done herself, but she also managed to shoot a truly important public access film.
A trail runner herself with a number of other works to her name already, including a well-supported Kickstarter revolving around neurodiversity, Gigi prides herself on “exploring the neglected truth in the world” through touching tales like The 24 Hour Run.
The adopted Manc and MetFilm School graduate’s roots may hail from Hong Kong, but she’s well and truly immersed and embedded herself in the Greater Manchester community through spotlighting local initiatives like this.
More importantly, this is much more than a student project: the bitesize 21:22 picture has been nominated and won at numerous festivals across the globe, including shortlists like the Florence Film Awards, a finalist in both the Independent Shorts and LEEDSflix competitions, among several others.
Aside from the obvious humanitarian and charitable angle of The 24 Hour Run‘s narrative, the talking heads with members of the team and numerous inspiring runners taking on incredible challenges on behalf of the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme make you proud to be from this part of the world.
You can watch it in full down below.
About the same run-time as most sitcom episodes – we’d argue this is a well more worthwhile watch.
Deeply moving stuff, we’re sure you’ll agree.
It’s also worth mentioning that the young director and producer is doing lots more to contribute to the region, helping out as part of the Manchester Refugee Support Network (MRSN), supporting asylum seekers who may otherwise end up sleeping rough themselves.
They’ve raised hundreds of thousands for the likes of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity since the event’s inception back in 2019. Mayor Andy Burnham himself may be looking toward no.10 Downing Street moving forward, but fundraising on behalf of this organisation will always be a part of his legacy.
Better still, this dedicated crew of volunteers have also generated vital funds for similar causes in the likes of Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Hereford, and soon to be even more.
Set to debut in Liverpool later this year, another city renowned for backing themselves and looking after their own, we can’t wait to see how much more impact they make on the North West.
Featured Images — The MCR 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness (supplied)
Sport
Government grants pubs permission to stay open until 5am for England’s next World Cup match
Emily Sergeant
Pubs across the country are being granted permission to stay open until the early hours of the morning on Sunday.
As England’s World Cup journey continues, the Three Lions are set to face Mexico in a Round of 16 knock-out match at the Azteca Stadium on Sunday night, but due to time differences between the two countries, this means that kick-off will be at 1am GMT here – a time when pubs are closed, and let’s face it, a lot of us are already in bed ready for work the next day.
But, in what is set to be a big ‘boost’ for pubs and bars – and football fans – nationwide, the Government has given permission for alcohol licensing hours to be extended for Sunday night’s match.
The Home Secretary has the legislative power to extend licensing hours on occasions of ‘exceptional international, national or local significance’, so this change removes the need for individual premises to apply for extended hours.
This extension to 5am adds to the already-granted extensions for England’s knock-out games that kicked off up until 10pm.
Communities Secretary Steve Reed is set to write to Council leaders across the country to inform them of these changes.
“Football might be coming home but we’re making sure fans don’t have to,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in an emphatic statement.
Pubs are allowed to stay open until 5am on Sunday / Credit: Road to Victory | We Are Football (Supplied)
“Pubs staying open until the final whistle is good news for supporters and good news for the pubs and venues that bring our communities together. The whole country will be backing the team. Come on England.”
Michael Kill, who is the CEO of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), said the extension is ‘fantastic news’ that will be ‘hugely welcomed’ by operators.
He continued: ““This pragmatic approach allows venues to focus on what matters most – bringing communities together to support the national team.
Danny Jones -
24th September 2025 
